My View: Heartfelt thank-you from Hogan family

Saturday

Jul 19, 2014 at 3:30 PM

Calvin Madison will stay in prison for another year in the murder of John Hogan. We were hoping for three or five years.

On June 26, 2014, Terry and Debbie Hogan, Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato, Winnebago County Assistant State’s Attornery/Chief of the Criminal Bureau Marilyn Hite Ross, Penny (Hogan) and husband Robert Evans appeared before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board in Springfield to hear the outcome of Calvin Madison’s plea for release after 44 years in prison for the execution-style killing of John Hogan in January 1970. 14 IPRB members were in attendance. They voted 10-4 to keep Madison in prison for another year.

While we are happy with the outcome to keep Madison in prison for another year, we are disappointed that the IPRB did not vote to keep Madison in for another three or five years before he could ask for another parole hearing. This did not happen. Our commitment to keep Madison in prison will not stop as we will continue the fight again next year.

The Hogan family wishes to express a heartfelt thank you to Joe Bruscato, Marilyn Hite Ross and Barb Stone, Victim’s Advocate, for their dedication and ongoing support to the Hogan family. To the Rockford Register Star, to the following area businesses that allowed us to put our petitions in their establishments: Stockholm Inn, Alpine View Restaurant, Gray’s Food, Dough Boy’s Donuts, Auto Clinic of Rockford, Postal Shoppe, Uptown Barber Shop, Eagles Aerie No. 392, to everyone that signed those petitions, to family and friends who supported us through kind words, thoughts and prayers, to my co-workers and people I see every day, to the creators and supporters of John’s Facebook page, “Justice for John Hogan,” to the meaningful words expressed to Terry and I from Barb and Gary Betts who we met for the first time at our first Dixon parole board protest meeting this spring and especially to Paul Vogt, the postman who delivered mail to John each day, who has for the past many years worked so diligently to collect petitions to keep Madison in prison. Terry and I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and support.